I'd watched the movie of this author's first book, A Man Called Ove and remember enjoying it, even with sub-titles. This second novel was recommended by one of my book clubs.
I was intrigued, laughing out loud, and crying while reading this book. A cast of quirky characters embroiled in a hostage situation created by a bumbling bank robber are interviewed by the police that rescue them and the story unravels from their shared experience. And, it is like unraveling, loose, seemingly unrelated threads come together marvelously. Backman is a master storyteller. His characters are real genuine people. This one is my favorite for 2022. I imagined it as a play, which would be delicious!
Quotes:
"And that's the weirdest thing about being someone's parent...that you are loved in spite of everything that your are...Perhaps there's a biological reason for that, that up to a certain age a child loves you unconditionally and hopelessly for one single reason: you're theirs. Which is a pretty smart move on biology's part, you have to give it that."
"Do you know how many men like you every single woman on the planet meets every day, who think that every thought that pops into your tiny little male brains is a lovely present you can give us?"
"We weren't allowed to argue just for the sake of winning. Because sooner or later, that would end up with one of us winning. And no marriage can survive that. Did it work??' Julia asked. 'I don't know," Estelle admitted. 'We never got past the first flush of infatuation."
"[My Dad] He says you end up marrying the one you don't understand. Then you spend the rest of your life trying."
"...your children aren't your children, they're the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself." [Kahlil Gibran]
Published: 2020 Read: November 2021 Genre: Fiction
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